Car-coupling



L FREEMAN. GAR COUPLING (No Model.)

No. 531,921. Patented Jan. 1, 1895.

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WITNESSES f UNITED STATES PATENT 4 FFlCE.

LEVI L. FREEMAN, OF BROADLANDS, ILLINOIS.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,921, dated January1, 1895.

Application filed May 11, 1894. Serial No. 10137 N m l- To all whom itmay concern.-

Be it known that I, LEVI L. FREEMAN, of Broadlands, in the county ofOhampaign and State of Illinois, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Gar-Couplings, of which the following is a full,clcar,and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in car copplings of the automaticlatching type, wherein an arrow-headed link bar is employed to connecttwo drawheads, the object of my invention being to produce a novel,simple and efiective device of the character indicated, which will beadapted to automatically couple two cars having the improvement, andaiford means fortheir quick detachment from either side of the coupledcars.

To this end, my invention consists in the construction and combinationof parts, as is hereinafter described and claime Reference is to be hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, inwhich similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in allthe views.

Figure 1 is a broken front view of the coupling in position on a car,and adjusted to connect with a similar coupling. Fig. 2 is a brokenfront view of the coupling in place on a car, and with parts in openadjustment. Fig. 3 is a broken plan view of a car with the improvementon it, showing the parts set to connect with a similar coupling. Fig. 4is a broken longitudinal sectional view, on the line 4-4 in Fig. 3. Fig.5 is a transverse sectional view, on the line 55 in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 isaplan view of one form of the link bar; and Fig. 7 is a plan view of amodified form of the link bar.

The drawhead A, is preferably cast into form,its forward portion beingrectangular in transverse section, and rectangularly recessed as at cfrom the front end centrally and rearwardly a proper degree, the wallsof the recess being outwardly flared at their front edges, adapting thedrawhead to readily receive the end portion of the link bar which willbe described.

The rearward extension of the drawhead A, shown in part in Fig. 4, maybe reduced in diameter and be spring-pressed forwardly to cushion thedrawhead in the usual manner. Such devices being com mon,are omittedfrom the drawings.

The ordinary supporting loops, such as a,

,may be utilized to loosely secure the drawhead upon the frame of thecar B, so that the recessed portion of the drawhead will be projected inadvance of the car end, at its trans ,verse center between the dead woodblocks B, that are located on the end of the car near each side.-'sitely and vertically slotted through its side The recessed drawheadis oppowalls near the front edge, which slots 1) are The two latchplates 6, are provided, which are pivoted at their lower ends at g tothe lower wall of the drawhead A, so as to adapt ihem to loosely swingin the slots 1), the lower end walls of said slots being upwardly andoutwardly sloped from points near the pivot joints 9', so as to permitthe latch plates to diverge and lie oppositely inclined, laterallyremoving them from the chamber 0, when actuated by means provided toeffect such an adjustment, which will presently be explained. The widthof the latch plates g, considerably exceeds their thickness, and theirwider sides occupy parallel longitudinal planes when the plates areelevated to bear upon the web 6, of the drawhead top wall, whichadjustment of parts is effected by the .V-shaped finger springs it, thatare located and secured between the outer sides of the latch plates andthe dead wood projections B, so as to have contact with and press thelatch plates towa'rd each other and thus retain them untilsaid platesare forcibly drawn apart.

The link bar 0, that is represented in connection' with the drawhead A,in Figs. 3 and 4, and detached in Fig. 6, is the preferred form of saidconnecting device, and consists of an elongated metallic billet,preferably made rectangular in cross section, as shown in Fig. 5, eachend being laterally enlarged to form a shoulder '11, near each end, andfrom'these shoulders the end portions are tapered to a point, thusproducing an arrowshaped head i on each end of the link bar, each headhaving four sides, as indicated in Fig. 1.

The preferred means to manually operate the latch plates 9, for theiroutward inclination, comprises two slide-rods m, that are of asufiicient length to extend across the end wall of the car whereon theimprovement is placed. Each rod m, has an integral ring or eye-holeformed in it to loosely slide upon the cylindrical reduced extensionlimbs g that are produced on the upper ends of the latchplates g, thelocation of the ring-eyes being such'as will allow the slide rods m toproject near the sides of the car body for convenient manipulation, therods being loosely sustained in parallel and horizontally by bracketboxes n, or equivalent means.

It will be seen that the space allowed between the latch plates Whenthese are in normal position as represented in Fig. 5, will receive thebody of the link bar C,if it is introduced, such an adjustment resultingif one head of the link bar is pushed toward and between the adjacentfaces of the latch plates, the withdrawal of the head being prevented bythe engagement of the shoulders 71, thereon with the edges of thespring-pressed plates. When a link bar 0 has been locked to one drawheadA, its opposite end will be held projected sufiiciently to enter andinterlock with another coupling of a like form, the end of the link barfirst inserted being slid against the rear wall of the chamber 0 and thesides of the bar frictionally engaged with the latch plates g, so thatthe bar 0 may be inclined up or down to enter another drawhead of likeconstruction that may vary in height therefrom.

To release a link bar from one of a pair of coupled drawheads A, theoperator grasps the handles m, that are formed on the ends of theslide-rods m, and pulls one rod while he pushes the other, whichmovement will spread the latch plates g, and remove them from engagementwith the shoulders i, of the link bar, so that the bar can be freelywithdrawn from the drawhead.

Should it be desired to retain the latch plates g, in outwardly inclinedadjustment for a short time, as may be necessary to avoid coupling carsWhile they are being shifted on sidiugs to get them in proper locations,this can be readily eflected by use of the dogs 0, that are placed onthe rods m, and which may be slid so as to have contact with theprojections or stops 0, that are fixed on the dead wood blocks B. Thespring action of the rods m, causes such a frictional engagement betweenthe hub edges of the dogs and the rods as will retain the parts 0,wherever they are located, when the stress of the springs h tend to drawthe rods m inwardly, and the dogs are in contact with the stops 0'. Whennot in service, the dogs 0 may be slid toward the handles m, and therehang pendent.

A modified form of the link bar is shown at being adapted to enterthedrawhead of the common coupling and receive the usual pin for attachmentto the same.

' Having thus fully described my invention,

lclaim'as newaud desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 7 1. Thecombination with a recessed drawhead, of latch-plates laterallyvibratile in slots in the drawhead,and oppositely movable slide rodsloosely engaging the upper ends of the latch plates, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination with a forwardly recessed drawhead,oppositely slottedin its side walls near the front end, of spring-pressed latch platespivoted attheir lower ends on the drawhead and vibratile in the slots,and slide rods adapted toswing the latch plates outwardly, substantiallyas described.

3. The combination with a forwardly recessed drawhead, oppositelyslottedin its side walls near the front end, and latch plates pivoted at theirlower ends on the drawhead and vibratile in the slots, and havingreduced upper ends, of springs adapted to press the latch platesinwardly, and slide rods loosely engaging the reduced upper ends of thelatch plates and adapted byopposite movement to spread said latchplates, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a forwardly recessed drawhead, oppositelyslotted in its side walls near the front end, and spring-pressed latchplates pivoted at their lower ends on the drawhead and lying in saidslots, of a link bar adapted to separate the latch plates and tointerlock with their rear edges, and four longitudinally movable sliderods that extend to the sides of the car to swing the latch plates andrelease the link bar, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a drawhead supported on a car, said drawheadbeing forwardly recessed, flared at its front end, and oppositelyslotted in its side walls.near said end, of flat latch plates pivoted attheir lower ends on the drawhead, and vibratile in the slots in thedrawhead, and having reduced cylindrical upper ends, horizontal sliderods loosely engaging the reduced upper ends of the latch plates, andlocking dogs slidaole on the rods and adapted to interlock withprojections on the car when the slide rods are adjusted to spread thelatch plates, substantially as described.

LEVI L. FREEMAN.

Witnesses:

W. P. KEYS, E. L. HARDMAN.

